Lowe's 2004 Annual Report Download - page 17

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Lowe’s 2004 Annual Report Page 15
to enhance our appliance offering with more
innovative features and a wide variety of well-known
brands for our customers. Our exclusive arrange-
ment with Therma-Tru®doors, the most recognized
name and preferred brand in entry doors, is an
indication of our commitment to add the quality
brands that customers demand. Portfolio and
Harbor Breeze,two Lowe’s-owned brands, both had
an excellent year in 2004 as a result of great product
design, great value, and improved packaging.
We will continue to add superior brands with
features that make our customers’ lives easier.
A small sample of what is to come in 2005 includes
Whirlpool’s®side-by-side refrigerator featuring water
filtration by PUR,
®a Lowe’s exclusive, to provide
bottle-quality water straight from the refrigerator
door. We will feature innovative fire-safety products
from Kidde, including room-specific fire
extinguishers, specially formulated to treat grease
fires in kitchens, mattress fires in bedrooms, electrical
fires in offices and chemical fires in garages.
Electrolux is introducing vacuums with new air-
filtration technology that simultaneously cleans your
floor and the air in your home.
While well-known national brands are core
to our product offering, in some product categories
brand is less important and purchase decisions
are often based on style, quality and other
characteristics including price. Through Lowe’s
Global Sourcing, we can take advantage of
significant cost savings in product acquisition by
strategically sourcing products for our stores.
These products offer our customers high quality,
innovative designs and great value.
Seize the Opportunity
A major enhancement to our
special order offering in 2004
was the rollout of SOS Express
for our fashion plumbing
department. The new system
empowers our employees with
greater visibility of available
inventory thanks to our
dedicated SOS Express
distribution center, allowing
them to give customers
immediate product availability
information, firm expectations
for delivery and faster
fulfillment.